Ferno
Note - this page is about Ferno the beast and not the events of the book, Ferno the fire dragon. For information on the book click here Ferno, one of the seven good beasts of Avantia, is a black dragon with the ability to breathe fire. The dragon's job as a good beast is to protect the Southern parts of Avantia. Ferno appears many times throughout the Beast Quest series and for the most part, when not under any curses, he aids the forces of good. Appearance Ferno is described as a fire dragon with eyes copper in colour and black, leathery scales covering the length of his body. Being a dragon, the beast has large wings which block out the sky but he also lacks arms. In artwork Ferno is displayed with two pairs of horns on his head (one pair curving backwards in an upward direction, the other pair curving inwards in a downward direction), spikes running along his spine, a spaded tail and an overbite. Additionally the scales on Ferno's underside are shown as being different from those across the rest of his body, possibly differentiating in colour as well - this may suggest that Ferno's underside is either a weak spot or a strong spot but this has yet to be confirmed in the text of the books. In terms of size Ferno is described as being 'as big as a mountain' though the extent to which these claims are true is uncertain as artwork within the books suggests otherwise. Abilities As his title suggests, Ferno has the ability to breath fire, much like dragons from ancient legends from across the world. Ferno can shoot out fire balls and bursts of flames from his mouth to scorch his opponents and surroundings. This ability to breath fire has come into good use many times - allowing Tom to defeat Claw and even destroying Malvel once and for all. Ferno's scales also have great resistance to fire - he even gifted Tom with one of his scales after being freed from Malvel's curse, giving Tom's shield similar fire resistant properties. Other than his control of fire, Ferno has other more basic, physical abilities. Having wings allows this beast to fly despite its huge size and its jaws are powerful enough to crush boulders. An ability rarely seen from Ferno is his camouflage. The fire dragon can remain stationary in a pose which causes him to look like a mountain or hill. This may or may not be an intentional tactic though it has tricked both Caldor and Tom in the events of the first book. Lore From the start of the series Ferno has acted as a protector of Avantia, with his designated area to guard being the Southern parts. Ferno's job as a protector is to stop any malicious activity but the Beast's unique roles as the guardian of the South include preventing the Winding river from flooding villages and stopping droughts. For the most part Ferno remains in his home, Ferno's mountain. During the events of the first book, Ferno was cursed by the evil Wizard, Malvel, with an enchanted collar placed around his neck - the only way to free him from the curse was to insert a special key into the collar in order to open it and let it come off Ferno. When Cursed, Ferno spread havoc by blocking off the Winding river , resulting in droughts, and setting fire to farmland. This created a dire situation for the inhabitants of the Southern parts of Avantia, leaving them to cope with famine. Many heroes attempted to save the fire dragon from his curse and most were killed in the process, including Caldor. Ferno was finally saved by Tom along with companions, by managing to fit the enchanted key into Ferno's collar. After being saved, Ferno rewarded Tom with one of his own scales which Tom then placed on his shield, giving it resistance to fire, and Ferno returned to his normal self, protecting the Southern parts of Avantia. Ferno came to Tom's aid in Claw the giant monkey. The monkey beast was adept at climbing the trees of the dark jungle, maneuvering with ease, making the fight difficult for Tom. To have a chance of defeating Claw, Tom used Ferno's scale to call for his aid, which he received. Ferno flew above the canopy of the Dark jungle and he set it alight with his fire, forcing Claw to abort the trees and bring the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, Claw became clumsy in his movements and he struggled to fight which ended in Tom's victory. The triumph over claw was allowed thanks to the help of Ferno. When Tom was searching for Spiros, the seventh, lost beast of Avantia, he summoned all of the other Avantian good beasts to help him search for the ghost phoenix, Ferno being the first. When the searching brought no results, Tom instead summoned all of the Good beasts together which helped show the way to Spiros. As part of the events that took place during the Dark Realm series, Ferno and the other good beasts of Avantia were taken away into Gorgonia by Malvel, where they were held captive in terrible state. The fire dragon was hidden away in the Gorgonian rainforest and was guarded by Tusk the mighty mammoth. The Gorgonian vines along with Tusk damaged the poor dragon and caused him to almost die but he was rescued by Tom in time. After the rescue, Ferno safely returned to Avantia where he resumed his job as the Southern protector. After the rise of Mortaxe the skeleton warrior, an arena was summoned from the earth of Avantia. The malevolent warrior and Petra the witch cursed the good beasts of Avantia, resulting in a stand off between them. Ferno was amongst the beasts in the battle and he did very successfully - the dragon managed to prevail up until he and Epos were the last beasts remaining, preparing to initiate in a final showdown. The battle went on and, if it wasn't for the help of Tom and his companions, the two fiery beasts would've killed each other. In the book, Doomskull the king of fear, Ferno was the beast to spell an end to Malvel's life and the evil deeds that came along with it. After Malvel defeated all six of the knights of Forton he quickly proceeded to make quick work of Tom too. Tom was left exhausted, disarmed and battered on the ground but before Malvel could end the boy's life, the ghost of Tom's father, Taladon, gifted his son with his very own sword. The gifted weapon gave Tom the determination to fight on and this time he left the dark wizard on the ground, defeated and pleading for mercy. As Tom stood over his nemesis, Ferno flew above the scene below, with Elenna sat on top of him. The mighty dragon unleashed a fireball which scorched Malvel to a mere heap of ash. That day Ferno finally killed the dark wizard. Kensa the witch used Ferno's blood to create the fiery beast Flaymar. After Tom's defeat of Flaymar, Ferno was given back the life that came along with his blood. Relationships * Good beasts of Avantia - Ferno's relationship with the other good beasts of Avantia is portrayed as a friendly one. When not under the influence of any curses, he has never been shown to have a fight or disagreement with another one of Avantia's good beasts. Ferno may have somewhat of a rivalry with Epos, seeing as they are both the two fiery beasts of Avantia and have been in one-on-one battles more than any other Avantian good beasts. However these fights only occurred when the beasts were cursed so this rivalry is unlikely to be true for the beasts when they are free from any curses. From the little appearances Spiros has made in the series it is still shown that Ferno has a good relationship with this beast as he was willing to help Tom find and summon the ghost phoenix, along with the other five major good beasts of Avantia. Doing so meant that Ferno had to temporarily leave the Southern parts of Avantia which he was meant to protect, showing just how willing he was to bring back Spiros. Once Tom had actually saved Spiros, Ferno, along with the other beasts, showed their happiness with the success; again suggesting the good relationship with Spiros. * Tom - ever since Tom saved Ferno from the thrall of Malvel's curse, Ferno has been a great friend of the human boy and a vital ally. Throughout Tom's quests Ferno has appeared as a recurring helper, fighting on the side of Tom to help him obtain victory over evil. The beast is shown to be gentle and friendly with Tom despite his menacing appearance (much like the other good beasts of Avantia). The fire dragon gifted Tom with one of his own scales and he even allows the boy and his companions to ride upon his back. * Elenna - being a friend of Tom's and someone who freed Ferno, the beast is friendly towards the girl. Ferno had helped out Elenna and Tom a lot during the course of the Beast Quest series. Elenna and her friends have ridden on Ferno many times but one time Elenna was even able to call forth the beast herself and ride him to Tom's aid, to kill the wizard Malvel. This displays the good relationship the two have. * Silver and Storm - Ferno has helped out all of the main heroes of the series, including Silver and Storm. The dragon lets the two fly on him despite Storm being fairly large. With Storm on his back Ferno has to put extra care into his flying showing that he does care for the well-being of the animals. * Malvel - it is clear to see that the dragon despised Malvel - Malvel has cursed the beast, threatened his life, threatened the life of his friends and threatened the Kingdom he protects. Ferno was the beast who killed Malvel and he done so without showing hesitation or remorse. Trivia * In the book Doomskull the King of fear, Ferno is depicted in artwork with three horns rather than four like in other books * According to the Beast Quest website Ferno is the largest beast - based on illustrations in the books this seems unlikely * Ferno has fought Epos twice, while cursed - first in Mortaxe the skeleton warrior and the second time in Ferno vs Epos, where it was part of the main plot * Ferno's name is a play on the word inferno which can be defined as 'a large fire that is dangerously out of control'